Nas

God's Son

God's Son solidifies Nas as a great MC once again

Review Score:

(8/10)
Nas has always struggled with who he wants to be. Whether he is Nasty Nas, Nas Escobar, or God's Son he is still the same guy. God's Son is a very important album for him because it will make the statement that he is really back and that Stillmatic wasn't a fluke. And let me tell you, Nas brings it again. God's Son is Nas at his greatest and probably is his most overlooked album. This is probably the fourth best Nas album after "Illmatic," "Stillmatic," and "Street's Disciple."

The album starts out with "Get Down" a song that has a James Brown sample in it. This song interested me because of the sample that has been used many times by other artists and Nas surprisingly doesn't fall flat on his face like his predecessors. Nas does, however, doesn't knock each song out of the park like with "Get Down." On "Dance" and "Heaven" Nas's vocal tone is low as he talks about his mother. This probably has to be the most personal album that he has ever done. Salaam Remi does pretty much the core production on all of the tracks, although Nas does a hand in some of the producing.

Album Overview:
1. Get Down - Great opening to the album. Nas does a storytelling sypnosis throughout the James Brown sampled track. This is one of his self-produced tracks.
2. The Cross - This has to be probably the most controversial song that Nas has done since the "Hate Me Now" video came out years back. Eminem does the lacing to the track as Nas makes a lot of references to Virgin Mary and the crucifix.
3. Made You Look - First single that I started nodding my head to when I first heard it. This song gets mixed criticism from a lot of people but I feel this is the hardcore and grimey Nas that I like.
4. Last Real N**** Alive - This track goes into a lot of depth about the true story that happened between him and Jay-Z and how he had his beef with Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan. This is a definite listen for a Nas fan.
5. Zone Out - Filler track that features the BraveHearts. Not even Nas can't save this horrible song. Just skip it.
6. Hey Nas - Features Claudette Ortiz of City High and Kelis. It is basically one of those hip hop love songs.
7. I Can - You've heard this one probably. It is a nice song for the children who listen to hip hop and has a very easy sing-a-long chorus that you can sing to.
8. Book of Rhymes - Alchemist provides the beat where Nas goes through his book of rhymes and recite lines from him. He even adds his own criticism of his own raps saying "Ah that was weak there," which shows a different side of Nas. You can really tell that he was pressed for material that day in the studio.
9. Thugz Mansion (N.Y.) - This is that same acoustic version that was featured on the 2Pac "Better Dayz" album. Not sure that this was a good idea by Columbia Records since that album came out before "God's Son." The song does, however, features an extra verse from Nas that wasn't heard on the "Better Dayz" version.
10. Mastermind - Another Alchemist produced track. It's a nice listen that illustrates Nas's lyricism.
11. Warrior Song - Alicia Keys makes a nice cameo here. Almost a surprising collaboration when I first heard about this.
12. Revolutionary Warfare - Another Alchemist track that I enjoy a lot. It is a very good listen.
13. Dance - This is a very personal song that is dedicated to Nas's mother. The problem with this is that Nas's vocal tone seems very low and song drags out a bit.
14. Heaven - This track suffers the same problem that the previous track, "Dance" does. Nas's tone in the song is low and you have to really have to listen to it. It takes a while for it to build up as well.

All in all, "God's Son" is a very good listen. "Dance" and "Heaven" may not be to top notch, but they do not ruin the album flow as bad as you would expect. "Zone Out" is just plain horrible which is why this album gets its 4 rating. I would have to say compared to "Stillmatic," "God's Son" is a slight step down from it, but it holds it grounds as well. Nas crosses the checkered flag and makes an album that is a nice listen from beginning to finish (thank goodness that the TrackMasters weren't in charge of production).

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